Good afternoon MMO-Champ, i came across this article accidentally after it being plastered over my FB feed - It's been causing quite a stir amongst certain people i know and they're wasting no time in vilifying it.
What are they parading around is probably going on in your head, well it seems a relatively unknown MRA group in Edmonton has started a *campaign* of posting a mock of the poster "Don't be that guy"
In short, the poster is pointing out - that men can stop rape ect, i've not been a big fan of the posters personally - but do realize they serve a very public purpose.
What the group did, was turn the tables - and design posters to remind women about false accusations and the like, something which is quite rare in western culture (Relatively at least) But some people fear it's gaining traction, like certain MRA's.
I'll post the article and the posters (I'll try and scale them down)
An example of "Don't be that guy" posters.
And then the MRA poster, that was put up in Edmonton.
Now, for the article in question -
EDMONTON – Posters spreading a message that Edmonton police have been trying to fight for years with their “Don’t be that guy” campaign is generating mixed reviews, as well as a conversation in our city about sexual assault.
The Mens Rights Edmonton association is taking responsibility for the campaign. One of its members, who did not want to identify himself, says this poster campaign was intended to counter the “Don’t be that guy” campaign that he says made “rape into a gendered issue.”
“We don’t blame victims for anything, we’re simply looking for an accurate discourse on the subject.”
The subject was thrust into the spotlight on Tuesday afternoon, when a Women’s Studies instructor at the University of Alberta posted the following tweet:
The tweet in question from the Instructor;
A response from a Dr. Kristopher Wells1 more example that #RapeCulture is flourishing in #YEG.Women report rape bc its a crime,not a revenge plot #rapemyth pic.twitter.com/ObAGHEh6lH
And some other Tweets,As this poster shows, rape culture is alive and well in #yeg. A sad commentary & poor reflection on men everywhere pic.twitter.com/CZkLVCebEi
Dr. Cristina Stasia @ActionFlickDoc
Hey rape apologists, how about "Don't be THAT guy. Don't rape." #YEG #UofA #YEGdt #YEGsexism #rapeculture #rapemyths pic.twitter.com/S1zo02zsNHThe rest of the article in question;Don Iveson @doniveson
The msg in these posters is morally indefensible; it's condemnable and contemptible. @ActionFlickDoc: #rapemyths pic.twitter.com/yAzhi7oyjT #yeg
“I think there are real barriers for women who have been sexually assaulted to come forward, and I think things like this cause more barriers, more hassles for women. Because it requires real courage to come forward,” he told Global News.
Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse (CCASA) also responded to the campaign with a blog post, writing: ”This poster which has mimicked itself after the “Don’t Be That Guy” Campaign has crossed a line by using incorrect information to try to make a point that is absolutely false, inaccurate and 100% incorrect.”
“I think what their campaign is saying is that women lie about rape, about sexual assault to get back at a boyfriend,” said Karen Smith, executive director of the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton. She cited national statistics as evidence that false reports don’t actually happen as often as some people may think.
“One to two percent of sexual assaults reported to the police would be false. And that would be the same for any other crime that would be reported to the police.”
The same figure was also used by Acting Insp. Sean Armstrong of the Serious Crime Branch, which includes the Sexual Assault Section. Armstrong says that in the four and a half years he worked as a sexual assault detective, he came across only one false report.
“And I dealt with numerous files; many, many, many files. So they’re extremely rare.”
But the group’s message is seeing its fair share of support, as well.
The various sources; Including a thread that was made by me, adressing a poster made and posted on a campus - similar in the lieu of thinking as "Don't be that guy"
http://www.mensrightsedmonton.com/
http://globalnews.ca/news/706030/don...spark-outrage/
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...e-is-it-unfair
- - - Updated - - -
Now, my question to the posters here is fairly simple. (I didn't include it, in the main post due to the length)
Do you think, that this is fair in the response the MRA's have received? Widespread condemnation and various other... things.
My personal opinion, is that it was somewhat petty - done to antagonize those they perceived as against there movement... Obviously i recognize that false accusations happen, but the responses towards it have been extremely dismissive - some going as far as even denying the existence of false reports and the like.
Should these types of posters even be allowed?